Moscow is studying the decision of the Supreme Court of Australia, which affirms the legality of terminating the lease of land to build a new building of the Russian embassy in Canberra. This information was reported by RIA Novosti, citing sources from the Russian Foreign Ministry.
According to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on November 12, the Australian Supreme Court, after more than 2 years of proceedings, recognized the 2023 Internal Affairs Law to take effect. The document allows for the final termination of the lease on a site in the Yarralamla area of Canberra, intended to build a new embassy complex.
Smolenskaya Square also recalled that the Australian authorities have long been trying to cancel the lease contract. Previous attempts to follow existing civil law procedures have in fact been ruled unlawful by the Federal Court of Australia. Therefore, to achieve the goal of terminating the agreement, the country's parliament passed the above law on June 15, 2023. Australia's leadership motivated its decision because of “national security considerations”.
The Russian Foreign Ministry noted that the Australian government's decision is being studied by Russian diplomats. “The court's decision is being carefully studied by the Russian side – both from a legal and foreign policy point of view. However, we can say that it is not as clearly positive for the Australian government as the Australian media is trying to report,” the ministry emphasized.
